The Color of Beautiful
by grace.em
Summary: Danny is playing a game to ask Lindsay to marry him. After much frustration and laughter, what is her answer? And who is this past lover that he seems to have adored, once upon a time? (Was previously named 'Your eyes'. Has been completely rewritten.)


I wrote this years ago and just read it again. I realized how many flaws it had and how horribly the plot played out.. So I changed pretty much all of it. -Heeeeeenyways. Enjoy.

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They were curled up on his old, cracked leather couch. She had pulled a small chunk of hair from behind her ear and was mildly braiding and unbraiding it. Danny looked up at his girlfriend of four years with a small smile upon his lips. She truly is beautiful. The tried to undo her small braid too quickly which resulted in a small knot at the end of her hair. She pouted lightly and began to pick at it. "Lindsay, what's your favorite animal?" She looked up at him in confusion wondering why on earth he would ask her that. He repeated the question when she didn't immediately answer.

"A... Horse." Her voice was laced with confusion.

"Why?" He inquired. It was obvious he was enjoying this way more than she was.

"I used to ride them all the time back in Montana. What is the point of this?" Her voice was laced with underlying frustration. "What's _your_ favorite animal?" She was simply trying to humor him and by his excited expression, she could tell it as working.

"A dog. Color?" He was looking at her intently.

"A dog, really? You couldn't have picked something a little bit more interesting or unique?" It seemed his answer was unimportant compared to her.

"They're my favorite! Wha'd'ya want me to say, Montana? Answer the question." He leaned in a little bit as if to hear her better.

"What question? What I want you to say? I want you answer my questions as seriously as I'm answering yours. You wanted to play this game. We're playing this game." She said these words with a sense of finality.

"I asked you what your favorite color was." There was a light smirk resting on his features in a way that seemed unassuming but frustrated her none the less.

_Oh._"Brown. Chocolate brown." She raised her eyebrows in a way that said: _is this good enough?_"Who was your first love?" She didn't feel particularly nervous about his response because she wholeheartedly believed that she was his last.

"Caroline. Second grade, she was a hot one." Lindsay paused as the words left his mouth, considering for the first time that - potentially - she was the name that really, truly answered that question.

_What?_

He looked slightly disappointed and she realized she had actually whispered the word. "Ask me again." He requested. Her furrowed brow made him repeat himself. "Ask me again, my answer was a joke." Her eyes dropped to her left hand of their own accord. She silently noted the absence of any ring on her hand with a sad smile. After an unnecessarily deep breath she repeated the words she had spoken only moments before. "It was this woman I met awhile back, I could never have expected or prepared for her presence in my life. She was absolutely gorgeous." He replied in answer. "I fell head over heels in love with her and she, well I wish I could say she immediately succumbed to my Messer charm, but she fought it. However, Montana, as you know: it's a losing battle." He smirked in an arrogant way but continued speaking, none the less. "Anyway, I kind of betrayed her trust and I thought she was gone forever. But as it turns out, she gave me another opportunity and then I proposed-"

"You proposed out of the blue right after she took you back?" she interrupted.

"Well, no. If you would have let me finish my story, you would have heard that we were back together for a few years before I proposed." He gave her a light smile so she would know he was kidding. "Who was your first kiss?"

Lindsay's face must have registered shock because his brow furrowed. "Wait just one second!" She almost shrieked. "That's not all of the story. How did you propose? How did you know she was the one? Why didn't you guys get married? Or did you? Then why did you get divorced?" _How haven't I heard any of this before now?_

"Now, now, Montana. If you are wanting to play this game,you have to play by the rules, one question per turn. It's my turn. Who was your-"

"His name was Gus. I was in the ninth grade. I agreed to kiss him if he would tell the other girls in our grade that I wasn't gross." She blew out her answer in one breath."How did you propose?"

Danny couldn't keep the smile off of his face, the woman in front of him truly was extraordinary. "Well. It was a pretty calm night." He was purposefully dragging out his answer and speaking slowly so that she had to wait. "We were just hanging out. No fancy clothes. No nice restaurant. Just me and her, on a couch." She was staring into his eyes with a graceful look about her. He couldn't help but mentally note how beautiful she was. "I had been wanting to ask for awhile. I had a ring picked out and everything, and I dunno. It just seemed like the perfect moment. So I blurted it out." He chuckled lightly at the picture his brain was painting. "Why did the other girls in your grade think you were gross?" His voice was soft, no teasing undertones.

Lindsay seemed to be pondering all that he had said, but mumbled a response out anyway. "We had just moved to a different house, I was zoned for a different high school. I went in knowing no one and during the first week of school, a kid threw up all over everywhere. Someone bumped me in the commotion and I feel into a puddle of barf. Months later, all the boys plugged their noses when they passed me and the girls pretended that they could catch some type of disease by being in my general vicinity. The only person who treated me like I was normal was Gus. The one who threw up everywhere." She sighed. "I thought it would help. It only made it worse. The kiss, I mean."

Danny only stared at her in confusion. She had always talked about her highschool years fondly. He wondered why this had never come up and when it had all ended. "Can we go eat?" She whispered.

"Wait. Is that your question?" When she nodded he felt his heart sink. His intention was not to ruin her evening, it was to change her life. "Of course we can. What's wrong?" Her only movement was to drop her head a little more. "That's my question Lindsay. It's only fair."

"It's silly, really. I know you love me now so it doesn't matter who you loved in the past. But I can't help but feel a little bit sad. You were my first love and I guess I just assumed I was yours. Which, now that I think about it, is really stupid because we're both adults. I'm sure you had many women that came and went before me... I just hope there aren't any after me." She whispered the last few words in a pathetic way. "Oh. What did she say, by the by."

"Who?"

"This girl you proposed to!" She almost laughed at him.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. What was your favorite age?" She stared at him, frustrated as ever almost unwilling to continue playing along with his stupid game. He pretended to not see her anger. "For example: five, ten, fourteen, twenty, now perhaps?"

"Seventeen. What the hell kind of answer is that? _I don't know._" She mocked. "You ask a woman to spend the rest of her life with you and you truly don't know what she said? That's a load of horse shit."

"It is your favorite animal." He said quietly. Her breathing was becoming more shallow and she was fidgeting. It was clear she was done playing. "Your turn, last question. I started, it's not fair if I finish."

"What's your favorite color?" She asked bitterly.

"Beautiful." He whispered having scooted closer to her.

"Danny. That isn't a color." She began to stand up but he caught her hand and pulled her down next to him. When he asked her if she was sure she merely glared at him.

"I think it is. It's the color of your eyes." She looked at his face, he was beaming. And even though she was mad at him, even though it was a cheesy thing to say. She was laughing. A simple sweet nothing, completely changed her mood. "I'm glad you're laughing. I have one last question."

"You said we were done. That we could go eat." Any trace of laughter was gone.

"I know, I know. I lied. One last question. What did she say?" He asked her.

"Who?" Her face scrunched in confusion.

"The woman I fell head over heels for." He explained lightly.

"I don't know! You wouldn't tell-" She immediately silenced her words when he slid a ring half way onto her finger. Their gazes looked at the sparkling diamond ring on her left hand. She looked up into his eyes and smiled.

"I think she said yes." Lindsay whispered.

"You think?" He confirmed. She simply nodded.

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Well I would most definitely call that an improvement. I hope you enjoyed it. You don't have to review but it is the click to my keyboard and a snack for my muse...


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